SOURCES SOUGHT
70 -- Commercial Off the Shelf Workload Scheduling Software
- Notice Date
- 10/9/2002
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, USDA, FSA, KCAO, ASD, P. O. Box 419205, Kansas City, MO, 64141-6205
- ZIP Code
- 64141-6205
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-KC-2003-FCAD01
- Archive Date
- 11/4/2002
- Point of Contact
- Steven Prado, Contract Specialist, Phone 816-926-6759, Fax 816-926-1782,
- E-Mail Address
-
smprado@kcc.usda.gov
- Description
- This is Request for Information not a Request for Proposal to locate potential sources for a Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) Workload Scheduling tool for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). FSA has a need for moving the scheduling, tracking, follow-up and completion of workload activities to the Internet. Most of the workload activities for making and servicing loans are required by regulation and/or statute and must be completed within specific time frames. There is a need to know the number of county activities completed, incomplete, and canceled/deleted at the county, State, and National levels and the time frames involved. There is need to have history of what has been accomplished or not accomplished for at least three fiscal years. The Government Paperwork Elimination Act of 1989 (GPEA) mandates government agencies to provide individuals and entities the option to submit information, transact business and maintain records electronically as an alternative to manual processes. E-Loans supports IT initiatives that meet its objectives of creating a Web-enabled and fully integrated loan-making environment and seamless loan-making process with reduced paper-based manual processes and increased efficiency. This IT initiative also supports the President?s Management Agenda and FFAMIA (P.L. 106-107). FSA has identified the need to replace their existing IBM AS-400 based Workload Scheduling facility of the Management of Agricultural Credit (MAC) software. MAC software renamed Direct Loan System (DLS) is being reengineered and developed for the Web. Its sister system, the Guaranteed Loan System (GLS) is already Web-based and has no workload scheduling component. The COTS workload scheduling component software must be compatible with DLS/GLS and their DB2 databases. The workload scheduling component must be able to receive data from different DB2 databases which store data from DLS, GLS and other Farm Service Agency systems. It must have the ability to send data to the same systems. Access to workload scheduling data must be easy. For example, a button or tab on a Web page or other web-enabled screens. Users should be able to access and update workload information grouped by customer, subject (item code) and/or due/follow-up date. Whatever workload items in MAC/DLS that are generated automatically and/or completed automatically through data input into the DLS system must remain automatic. Agency personnel must be able to create and modify workload scheduling items from their DLS/GLS systems. In the current MAC system, National Office-defined workload scheduling items are standardized. The State and County Offices also possess the ability to add to these standardized items with local items that they create. At a minimum, the new workload scheduling component software must provide the same functionality. Workload scheduling must be tied to a calendar system such as Microsoft Outlook or similar product. The calendar system must provide for the county office calendar as well as individual county employee calendars. In addition, workload items may also be created and completed from the calendar with the revised status or new workload item sent back to the DLS/GLS DB2 databases for storage. The new workload scheduling component must have the capability to generate reports with selection and sort capabilities and also have the ability to download data into an Excel spreadsheet. The Farm Service Agency has a technical requirement that all software placed on a PC in the Service Center. The software must be Section 508 compliant. The FSA uses Page Screamer with Spider as the software to test for 508 compliance. The software must also be compatible with Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). The software must be able to convert existing PDF (Adobe) forms into E-forms input documents, utilizing the application database to gather and present information. Database connectivity must be ODBC compliant. Software must use common industry available Web-based reporting tools (i.e. Crystal Reports, Brio, WebFOCUS, etc.), which will allow output to be created in HTML, Excel, PDF and other common output formats. Only firms that currently have software product(s) possessing the above characteristics are invited to response to the RFI. Responses should include: (1) Two (2) copies of all technical documentation, limited to twenty (20) pages, which address each of the above described characteristics and any other important technical aspects of the product. (2) Commercial price list or GSA schedule for license and maintenance fees (3) Points of contact (including name e-mail address, phone number and fax number) from three customers currently using the identified product. This is an RFI and not a request for comments or a request for proposals. Nothing shall be constructed herein or through the RFI process to commit or obligate the Government to further action as a result of this RFI. Firms responding to this RFI shall bear all risk and expense of any resources used to provide the requested information, all information submitted in response to this request shall become the property of the Government and shall not be returned to the submitter. To be considered, responses must be received with ten (10) calendar days of the publication of this announcement. Written responses to this notice are to directed to Delia Downer, USDA, FSA, TSD, 6501 Beacon, Kansas City, MO 64133. TELEPHONE INQUIRES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
- Place of Performance
- Address: 6501 Beacon Drive, Kansas City, MO
- Zip Code: 64133
- Country: USA
- Zip Code: 64133
- Record
- SN00185016-W 20021011/021009213149 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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